


Six-Part Harmony

by OnlyStraightForJongup



Category: B.A.P
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Coming of Age, Developing Relationships, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Ghosts!daelo, Heartwarming, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, OT6, References to bullying, Stereotypes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-05-15 15:26:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14793071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyStraightForJongup/pseuds/OnlyStraightForJongup
Summary: When a mysterious dancing ghost admits to Yongguk that he can't play music, it leads to a complicated plot to fix that before Yongguk's final year ends. He pulls together a ragtag group of some very different people to help, but they need to get over their own differences first.





	1. The Great Hall's Ghost

**Author's Note:**

> I crunched ages in this, so just a heads up that Youngup are the same age and are only two years younger than Banghim. Daelo are different because they're ghosts but yeah, hopefully it's not too jarring.

“I told you; he comes here every night.” Yongguk pressed his body against the doorway as though he thought he could fit behind the frame. For as skinny as he was, that was pushing it. If he was that worried about being seen, he should just cast a Disillusionment charm. 

Himchan leaned back on his elbows, smoothing the fabric of his robes. Long black hair fell over his shoulders, hanging in silky strands which caught the light of the moon reflected on the enchanted ceiling.

“I don’t see him,” Himchan said, taking a second to glance into the empty Great Hall. “He’s not gonna come.” Himchan was ready to force Yongguk to admit he'd been right all along and that Yongguk had just had some bad pumpkin juice the night he thought he spotted some weird ghost.

“He always comes. I know; I’ve seen him.”

“Well, what're you gonna do if he does?” Himchan tilted his head back to look at Yongguk more closely. “Merlin, I thought Gryffindor adventures were supposed to be exciting.”

Yongguk was still content to stare at the rows of empty seats and long tables. “You giggled like a first year when I showed you the kitchens.” Himchan hated his deadpan voice.

But well-- “You tickled a pear to get in! It laughed, and it was adorable—"

“Shh!” 

A breeze stirred Himchan’s hair, and he watched it do the same to Yongguk’s much shorter hair too. Despite the chill of the stone against his back, the breeze didn’t make him cold; instead, it seemed to carry with it summertime warmth and the earthy smell of dirt. It faded before Himchan figured out where it came from.

In the darkness, a sweet, high-pitched giggle sounded. Himchan perked up, glancing around in case a fun-loving first year had decided to go on a midnight stroll. The always-prepared Head Boy, Himchan had a duty to discipline any student out of bed at such an hour.

Well, except for his best friend and former greatest enemy. Yongguk’s robe looked much shabbier than his own, and though he kept his hair neat, his robes had several ignored wrinkles and his tie a small stain.

Himchan liked making himself look a little classier, with an ironed blue-and-bronze tie and a small black ribbon he used to tie his hair back. It did him well; he was no stranger to admiring eyes from all genders, and he often gave them an outrageous wink, watching their faces turn Gryffindor red as they back-pedaled away from him.

Yongguk still hadn’t said anything, and he looked up from his own robes to check up on his friend. He stared into the Great Hall, his mouth dropped open. Several things Himchan could tell him popped into his head, from how he looked like a Cornish pixie with his big ears and stupid expression to how Himchan would treasure this memory for the next time Yongguk flashed him a cocky grin and suggested he knew what cool meant.

Before he could say anything, his eyes followed Yongguk’s gaze, and he couldn’t help but take a sharp breath. A wispy, silver child stood in the Great Hall, in the middle of the floor. Under the enchanted stars, he had closed his eyes, raising thin arms which looked too long for his small body.

He paused for a second, both arms in the air, but then he dropped them, and he began to dance to a beat Himchan couldn’t hear, twirling and spinning through the hall. 

His feet never touched the ground, hovering mere inches above it. The boy wore no shoes, and his clothes resembled Muggle pajamas, a plaid button-up shirt and matching flannel pants. His short, shaggy hair looked ruffled, as though the wind stirred it even after death. For several long minutes, he danced, not bothering to open his eyes. 

The beat he moved to must have been slow, for his motions were gentle and his steps slow, none of the whirling and rushing Himchan would have expected from a dancing child. Once or twice he stepped into the table, passing halfway through it without seeming to realize. 

The spirit's light stung his eyes, and Himchan rubbed them. He moved to a sitting position and then to his feet, standing in the middle of the doorway as Yongguk peeked from the side. As he stopped moving, the boy finally came to a stop, his silver form leaving the hall misty. 

Standing still, his chest heaved with breaths he wasn’t taking, and his limbs seemed to vibrate—though with fatigue or energy, Himchan couldn’t tell. Perhaps neither; Himchan knew little about what ghosts could or couldn’t feel. 

“You should talk to him,” Himchan said, nudging Yongguk. His eyes widened as he tore them from the little boy for the first time. “That’s why you’re here right?” He’d come because he had wanted to prove Yongguk wrong. Ever since he’d started insisting that some ghost kid danced at night, Himchan had opposed him on it, insisting it couldn’t be true.

Clearly, he’d been wrong, but it wasn’t in a Ravenclaw’s cards to grow petty over inaccuracy. He moved onto wanting more information with ease and grace. 

That being said, he'd rather jump off the Astronomy Tower than admit Yongguk had been right over him.

“Are you sure--” Yongguk cut himself off, and Himchan spared him enough of a glance to watch his uncertainty melt into determination. He brushed past Himchan, his mouth a tight line and his robe swishing. 

“Hello?” he said, calling out to the child, whose eyes still hadn’t opened. The ghost swayed in the faux moonlight, his head tilted to the sky like he could feel it. “Um—kid?”

Himchan huffed. He loved his friend, but the guy had all the subtlety of a merperson out of water. Such a Gryffindor. 

The kid’s eyes snapped open as he reeled around, stumbling a few steps away. He took one look at Yongguk, and Himchan caught the flash of white from his wide eyes.

Then the kid disappeared, with no bright flash or strange occurrence. Just… gone. 

Yongguk turned back to Himchan, a disappointed frown resting on his lips.

“Last time I listen to you,” he said, grumbling and crossing his arms.

Right. It was all his fault. “At least he came.” 

Yongguk sighed. “I guess,” he said, the frown still heavy on his lips. Himchan braced for him to insist how he’d been right and Himchan had been wrong—and then he remembered it wouldn’t come, that Yongguk never really did that.

Instead, Yongguk scraped a foot against the ground, still petulant over his missed chance. “Kid’ll be back tomorrow night any–-”

A cold wind swept through the hall, cutting him off. 

“Oh _shit,”_ Himchan said, raising his eyes to scan the ceiling. “We need to go.”

“Nah, it’s fine. He won’t bother us.”

“Won’t bother us?” Himchan had lowered his voice, pushing Yongguk to move into the hallway and out of immediate sight. “It’s Keke. He fucking bothers everyone. He’s gonna start screaming the moment he sees us.”

“No, he won’t,” Yongguk said, calm and smiling with knowledge Himchan clearly didn’t have. Himchan crossed his arms and waited for his friend to elaborate. Or perhaps ‘friend,’ rather because Yongguk said nothing else. His smile was true, not mocking.

Yongguk grinned wider as the wind increased, and Himchan wondered if he was actually insane as he shivered in the cold. If the little boy’s ghost had brought a gentle, nostalgic breeze, the poltergeist brought a chilled hurricane, able to whip dust into the air and throw at it at whoever he happened to catch.

“Breaking rules, I see?” The whisper seemed to curl around him, like an arm wrapping around his shoulders, threatening to pull him off balance. “And whoever could it be? The Head Boy’s out late at night, but there’s no patrol in sight.” 

The wind localized, no longer swirling around them but forming a small cyclone only a couple meters in front of them. It got thinner and thinner, finally disappearing to reveal a figure manifested before them.

Also silver but more solid than the boy they’d seen earlier, the poltergeist looked older, showing himself as twenty or so. He stood a couple feet off the ground, and dusty white hair hung in clumpy bangs over sharp, shining eyes. They near crossed the line to glowing, silvery white with little pupil at all. It gave Keke a rabid look.

Despite his apparent age, he wore a Hogwarts uniform with an indistinguishable color to the trim. Himchan had heard other students insisting he was the ghost of a Slytherin, intent on wreaking havoc through the school. 

He didn’t particularly care about Keke’s past house, and so didn’t speculate. He preferred to only form strong opinions on that which he’d thought about, and he refused to think much about him. 

At least, not more than he had to, which was an already infuriating amount, considering the messes Keke caused near daily. Sure enough, in contrast to his earlier whisper, he turned amused eyes to them. His mouth didn’t move, but maniacal laughter circled their ears, as though carried in by a distant breeze.

Keke took a deep breath, drawing so much air into his lungs that Himchan braced for a deafening scream. It would echo all the way to Ravenclaw Tower, Himchan knew, carried by vents meant for noxious fumes to escape the castle. 

He heard Keke often enough from his bed to know it would wake up his dormmates. But before he could say anything, Yongguk stepped forward, and just like that, the inhale stopped.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said, his voice returning to a whisper. The only reason Himchan could hear him was the echo, making even the softest voice surround him. “Please leave. You scared him.”

Himchan thought it may have been the first time he’d ever heard Keke say something without either rhyming or shrieking, but it didn’t have long to sink in. 

He disappeared. For as climatic as an entrance he’d had, he disappeared much like the young boy. Poof. And then silence.

“How did you do that?” Himchan whirled around to face Yongguk, his mouth dropping open. “He never shuts up!”

“What can I say?” Yongguk said, still grinning. “I’m magic.” 

Himchan snorted, as unamused now as he’d been shocked a second prior. “You and everyone else here. Seriously though.” 

Yongguk shrugged, leaning against the doorway and sending another wistful look into the Great Hall rather than answering Himchan.

“Yongguk, really,” Himchan said, pushing down latent horror at how much he had to press him for answers. Merlin damn his Ravenclaw thirst for knowledge. 

“With Keke?” Yongguk said, finally looking away from the empty tables and back towards Himchan. He frowned. “It’s not much of a story. He made a first year cry a while back, and I talked to him.”

“Wow, if I would’ve known all it took to shut him up was threaten him I would’ve—”

“I didn’t threaten him,” Yongguk said, his voice mild but disapproving. Stupid Gryffindor morality. “I talked to him. I think that’s what made the difference. People treat him like a monster all the time.”

Himchan laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?” When Yongguk’s frown deepened, he laughed again. “It’s Keke. He’s annoying as all hell and an ass if that’s not enough. Drink what you brew; he’s not any good, and there’s no point pretending he is.”

“You’re quick to judge,” Yongguk said. “I’d think me and you proved that wrong though.”

Himchan frowned. “That’s different. I never thought you were bad, just thought you were—”

“A morally-obsessed prick, if I remember right.” Yongguk’s voice had turned dry, and Himchan winced. His fingers played with the sleeve of his robe as he tried to figure out how to respond. Yongguk was right. He’d even softened the blow; Himchan had said a lot more variable and arguably worse things about Yongguk throughout the years.

“I’ve told you—I’m sorry about that.” Himchan got that apologies weren't always the end-all-be-all, but he was hoping the friendship they'd formed since Himchan had apologized would get him there. If it didn't, he didn't quite know what else he had to offer. He tried to smile at Yongguk.

Yongguk nodded, his foot scuffing along the immaculately clean tile. “Yeah, of course.” He rubbed his eyes and pulled his wand. Himchan’s hand twitched toward his own, his brow furrowing. Did Yongguk mean to attack him?

But the wand wasn’t pointed at him, and a heartbeat after the thought registered, so did Himchan’s guilt. Of course Yongguk wouldn’t attack him. He hadn’t since they were eleven. Himchan kind of wished he would.

“Tempus!” The time floated through the air, hovering before Yongguk's face. Himchan cursed under his breath at it. Yongguk grimaced. “It’s late. We should go back.”

Himchan fell behind Yongguk as they started back. Before they reached the end of the corridor, where they’d part ways—Himchan to the ninth floor of Ravenclaw tower and Yongguk to the seventh floor of Gryffindor—a brief whisper of wind began again.

“Another ghost?” Himchan frowned. He stilled, letting the zephyr caress him. “Not Keke.”

Yongguk began to spin around, scanning the hallway around them to watch for another apparition. “It might be the boy.”

Himchan sighed. There were a lot more than two ghosts in the castle, and the boy had disappeared quick. “I really doubt—”

“Keke said you’re looking for me.” The gentle, sweet voice reminded Himchan of his younger sister, all shy innocence and curiosity. He waited for the boy to show himself, and sure enough, the wind soon stopped, and he appeared. A thin figure, lanky though he only reached Himchan’s shoulder even with the added height from the boy's floating. “Why would you do that?”

“Hi, I’m Yongguk.” Yongguk ignored the kid’s question, smiling and crouching down. “What’s your name?”

“He told me not to tell you. Said kids are mean when they know ‘bout you.” The boy stepped further away. “But he likes you,” he said, floating a little closer to Yongguk. “He doesn’t like a lot of people.”

“Keke?”

“Mhmm.” The silver boy tilted his head to the side. He reached out towards Yongguk’s outstretched hand, a smile growing on his glowing face. His fingers slipped through Yongguk’s hand, and Himchan saw him just barely conceal a shiver from the cold touch. “Why’d you wanna see me?”

Yongguk had no answer. Himchan almost snorted but held it back before he scared the boy. Trust Yongguk to not have planned what to ask the boy. 

Finally he figured it out. “You dance--why do you dance every night?”

“I like it,” the boy said. “’S fun.” He shrugged. Yongguk stood up, and the boy floated away a couple steps, startled by the sudden movement. His eyes had gone wide as a rabbit’s, and Himchan held his breath in fear that the boy would disappear again.

“Why in the Great Hall?”

The boy shrugged. “It's big, and there’s supposed to be no one here.”

“Do you have music?” Yongguk asked. “I couldn’t hear any.”

The boy shook his head. “Sometimes Keke sings for me.” He brightened as he said it, as though he hadn’t just said the poltergeist with the loudest screeching Himchan had ever heard sang for him. But then the boy dropped his chin and kicked at the ground--or at about six inches in the air, rather. “But he's busy."

“Can’t you play some? There’re spells—” Yongguk cut himself off, no doubt realizing how dumb he sounded. Of course the boy couldn’t use magic; he was a ghost.

The boy sighed. He spun around once, arms outstretched. “I’ve been here forever,” he said, sinking to his butt and sitting a few feet in the air as though he were on solid ground. “Thought it’d be fun ‘cause all the magic, but it’s not.” He pouted, balling his hands into fists, and the image was so shockingly familiar to Himchan’s sister that his chest constricted hard around his heart.

“Kid—” Himchan said, moving forward slow enough to not scare him. Here he’d been annoyed at Yongguk for speaking to him without knowing what to say, but apparently, he’d decided to do the same thing. 

“Zelo.” The boy stood and stared at him, wide eyes watching him so much like Yoonsun's that Himchan wanted to rub his eyes, to check he wasn’t hallucinating. 

“What?” He hadn’t meant for his voice to sound so gruff and forceful. Yongguk’s disapproval burned into his side, but Zelo didn’t react to it. 

“That’s my name. Keke said I get to pick it, and I pick Zelo.”

“Okay, Zelo,” Himchan said, moving to stand beside Yongguk. “What did you mean about not having real music anymore?”

“My mum’s got a radio,” he said, shrugging. “But Hogwarts is stupid.”

Zelo floated back to his feet, not bothering to brace a hand against air and pretend to stand as a living person did. “Keke tried t'get one for me,” he said. “But he said it won’t work here anyway.” He crossed his arms against his chest. “Hogwarts is stupid," he repeated again, stubborn despite how no one challenged him on it.

“Why don’t they work?” Yongguk asked.

Zelo made a general ‘I dunno’ sound, turning away as wind began to rustle through the halls again. “Do I have to?” he said, his voice so low Himchan barely caught it. “Fine.” He spun back around to Himchan and Yongguk. “Keke says I need to go.” With that as a goodbye, he disappeared without any fuss, gone quicker than he’d arrived.

Yongguk and Himchan turned to face each other. Yongguk’s forehead had some classic, confused wrinkles in it, but the lines marring Himchan’s brow came more from discontent than confusion. His sister wouldn't stop running through his mind.

“What d’you think he meant? With what he said about music?” Yongguk’s question made Himchan’s eyebrows rise again, before he realized his friend honestly didn’t know. He held back a snort of disbelief. Himchan knew Yongguk wasn’t an idiot, but he sure acted like it sometimes.

“Haven’t you noticed by now? Muggle stuff doesn’t work in Hogwarts.”

“Music isn’t Muggle?”

“Radios are," Himchan said. "My mum’d be damned before she’d let one in our house, and she’s not even anti-Muggle, just thinks they’re dangerous.”

“It’s twenty-eighteen,” Yongguk grumbled. “Who’s anti-Muggle anymore?”

Himchan shrugged, smiling tightly even though it wasn't funny. “Lots of people. Older people, at least. Wouldn’t be surprised if Hogwarts still disallows Muggle technology because of it.”

“But everyone’s integrating,” Yongguk said. “We're literally in Integrated Tech and Magic?”

“I’m not saying it’s smart, just that it’s a thing.”

“So we should change it!”

Typical Gryffindor, with his typical hero complex. “By doing what?”

“I—don’t know,” Yongguk said, looking down only to perk up again almost immediately. “But we’ll start with music. For Zelo.”

“We?”

Yongguk looked at him, raising an eyebrow. His smile seemed etched onto his face for how perfectly in place it looked. Part of Himchan wanted to hex it off. Part of Himchan really liked it. “Thought you liked adventures.”

“This isn’t what I had in mind." But when he pictured Zelo, he saw Yoonsun. Her pouting, her disappointment.

He’d seen it in Zelo, but he hadn’t seen her smiles. Himchan’s throat tightened—absurdly—at the thought of his sister without her wide, wide smiles. Dammit. “This isn’t our responsibility,” he said, continuing his whining before Yongguk could grow some emotional competency and read his mind. “And we don’t even know where to start. Neither of us grew up Muggle.”

“That’s exactly what makes it an adventure,” he said, clapping Himchan on the shoulder. “So what do we need to do to start a revolution ‘round here?”

“Maybe a little subtlety? Or any plan?”

Yongguk flashed him a grin. “And that’s why you’re here with me.” It was a little disgusting how willing Yongguk was to admit he needed help. 

Himchan didn't even need to think about it before he agreed to join.


	2. First Light Rhymes and Midnight Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Youngjae's late to class, and Himchan blackmails Jongup into helping them.

Youngjae’s favorite time of the day was the time he spent in bed, which was, perhaps, the reason why he got so pissed when an alarm clock smacked him in the face.

Of course, alternatively, there was the fact that a damn alarm clock literally collided with his cheek. He groaned, his hand rising to cover the spot. “The fuck?” he exclaimed. “Who did that?” Youngjae jerked up, his hand shooting to his night table for his wand. "Taeil, I swear to fucking Merlin if that was you--" But his yellow-and-black bed was empty. Huh.

He scanned for any of his dormmates, but he was alone in the room. Youngjae groaned even louder, his fingers rubbing at the sore spot on his face. 

If there was no visible culprit, it was all too obvious who had done it. “Keke!” Youngjae’s sleepy voice cracked, and he had to clear it before continuing. “The fuck did you do that for?”

As though the answer it, the wind picked up, whipping the draperies covering the top of the bed

“Okay, okay, fucking stop with the wind,” Youngjae snapped. He struggled out of bed and stretched, swatting a paper—his essay, great—out of the air. “Keke!” 

“You’re nearly late.” The wind materialized into Youngjae’s greatest annoyance. He stood a few centimeters taller and clearly older, though Youngjae knew from his Hogwarts uniform that his apparent physical age had to be a lie. “Thought you were supposed to be first-rate.”

“What do you—?” Youngjae finally took a look at the time on his alarm clock and let out a string of swears. Only the third day of class and his dormmates had left him sleeping. Great. He had charms, too, and Park took points. 

“Happy I woke you up?” Keke raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed and his smile much too smug. “If I didn’t you’d be marked up.” 

Youngjae didn’t have the time to roll his eyes. “Not really, that fucking hurt.”

“Worked, didn’t it? Don’t throw a fit.”

“Nudge me next time. I’m a light sleeper.” 

Keke snorted. “Yeah right.” He was right. He floated—extra, like always—to Youngjae’s bed and collapsed onto it. "You're never up early."

“Exactly. This is too early for you to bother me. What happened to ‘after class?’”

“You should be nicer to me after I helped you out.” Keke grinned and broke his character for the first time that morning. “’Sides, it’s not like I’m making you rhyme.” 

This time, Youngjae took a moment to roll his eyes. Keke had a thing for locking his door and only letting him out when they’d rhymed back and forth until Keke was satisfied. Youngjae hated it—but also had to appreciate how quick Keke was at it. He rarely found anyone who challenged his intelligence and enjoyed their games.

Besides, he always won. Okay, maybe not always, but most of the time he did! And who knew how many years Keke had been practicing, considering his reputation as the rhyming poltergeist of Hogwarts.

Youngjae gathered his books, still searching for one of his shoes as he went. He tied his tie and cast a quick Scourgify (which was objectively a little gross, but hey, desperate times called for desperate measures). 

His hand knocked against his ink bottle, knocking it straight onto his essay. He swore, lifting it back up and inspecting the damage. The ink had blocked out half the damn words.

Dammit. This is why he preferred pen. Next time, he’d use it anyway, even if his Charms professor threatened to deduct points if he dared to use ‘inappropriate technique.’

Inappropriate technique, his ass. He’d seen some of the other kids’ handwriting, and his penned essay was more legible than theirs any day. 

Youngjae pulled his wand from his pocket and cleaned the mess, sighing with relief when he saw his essay become legible once more. 

Despite his ire, Youngjae knew he wouldn’t challenge the professor with these essays, at least not until he finished the first set of exams. If he got Os—which he would, but better safe than sorry—he could afford all Es on his homework to maintain his O overall. 

Calculating all that out had fucking sucked, but his grades were the one thing he couldn’t risk, and he was much too smart to risk them for a fit of rebellious spirit. Youngjae may be a spineless badger, but that didn’t mean he had to sink to the level of Gryffindors.

Besides, he’d maintained his spot at the top of his year for four years and refused to lose it on their OWL year, of all times. Hence why he couldn’t fucking be late to class, yet here he was. Youngjae raised his wand to Accio his damn missing shoe, only for it to smack him in the back. He spun around to glare at Keke, who only grinned. 

“Whoops. That was a little crass,” he said, careless as he lounged an inch above Youngjae’s wrinkled bed. “You know, I could take you to class.” 

“Definitely not,” Youngjae said. “I threw up last time.” Keke’s abilities were rather strong even for a poltergeist. Of all people, Youngjae would know. He’d spent the past years torturing him, until they’d finally come to whatever agreement they had now—which clearly didn’t work well, considering their current scenario.

Youngjae didn’t want to call him a friend, but truthfully, Keke was his only one. 

“I’ve gotten better! There’s a new ghost here, and I take him all the time.” Keke perked up, a smile brightening his lips. “Like really—no need for fear.”

“I’d rather be late than ever do that again.”

He pouted. “It’s practically Apparation, not some vexation.”

“You’re a vexation.” Youngjae hurried out the door without a goodbye, knowing Keke would follow. 

He all but ran down the stairs, nearly colliding with a blonde girl in his year whose name he really should’ve known by now. She huffed. “Excuse you.”

“Sorry!” Youngjae yelled back belatedly. He passed some more Hufflepuffs playing Exploding Snap and held back the urge to roll his eyes. 

You could count on Hufflepuffs to waste time. Ravenclaws wouldn’t act like that, all wasting time and opportunity. Slytherins wouldn’t either, purely because they were too smart to risk their futures. 

Just another reason Youngjae very fucking clearly didn’t belong in Hufflepuff, but this wasn’t the time for those thoughts. He threw the door to the Common Room open and stepped out, juggling his books in his arms. 

“What took you so long?” Keke leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Thought you wanted to get to class, guess I was wrong.”

“Shut up,” Youngjae snapped, even less in the mood to deal with a goddamn poltergeist than earlier that morning.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

“I wonder why.” Youngjae was out of breath already from his running. “Now will you leave? I need to get to class.”

A gust of wind slammed into his back, and he gasped, stumbling and only regaining his balance by pressing one hand on the floor. 

Keke had gone.

A sliver of guilt made its way into Youngjae’s chest, and he whispered a quick, “thank you,” despite not knowing if Keke still listened. 

As he turned the corner to the Charms classroom, he passed a red-haired Hufflepuff—Nahyun? Dahyun? Gahyeon? Something like that at least—who took one look at him and laughed. Youngjae gritted his teeth. Screw her. At least it looked like he would—miraculously—get there in time.

He ducked into the room, panting, and surveyed the seating arrangement. Whoever he sat with today would undoubtedly be his partner for the year. Youngjae’s heart sank when he saw they had it with the Slytherins. He could usually find a partner easily enough with the Ravenclaws; they respected him for intelligence alone. 

The Slytherins were less easy, especially because it still managed to rub some of them the wrong way that he was Muggleborn. 

Still, there was only one open seat, and Youngjae didn’t have much time. He sighed and sat next to a Slytherin whose head was down. The Slytherin looked up, and Youngjae clenched his jaw when he recognized Moon Jongup. 

_Moon? You’ve got to be fucking joking._

When did his life become a joke and who was laughing because he was ready to throw hands.

**

Jongup wished he’d taken the time to learn a cooling charm. He’d forgotten how warm the empty room got whenever potions classes were in session. Of course, that was exactly why they left this room empty—something about magic messing with the potions if they cooled the room any other way.

He appreciated it, even as sweat soaked through his shirt and ran down his neck. The room wasn’t far from the Slytherin common room, and no one ever went in there. 

With a squish of his wand, a song he’d been working on for a couple weeks started playing. Jongup danced through half-planned choreography and half whatever came to mind. He didn’t stop until he’d become so breathless he physically couldn’t continue, flopping into a chair and wiping the sweat off his forehead with an equally sweaty hand. 

A yawn tried to fight its way out of him. As always, the tiredness set in insanely quick after he paused. This room always made him sleepy, and with the NEWTS potion class so late at night, the extra warmth didn’t help. He wanted to try a new song tonight, but with the night growing later, he should go back soon.

If he stayed out much longer, he’d get in trouble for being out late, and he didn’t need extra suspicion on him. Already his Housemates were more iffy about him than he would’ve liked, docking them points would only aggravate the problem. Jongup groaned, his mind warring between the (stronger) ‘fuck it, just do what you want’ and the more sensible ‘you need to stay on everyone’s good side.’

The second sounded like his cousin’s voice, and that made him even more intent on disobeying it.

He’d much rather not care what they thought. Merlin’s beard, he wanted to dance in the damn common room, not the unintentional sauna of a room he used now. But Slytherin’s remembered things too well.

Jongup had already damaged his reputation last year, when he’d become the Slytherin caught reading Muggle mangas. He didn’t need to be the Slytherin who danced in Muggle styles too. But all the dancing he’d learned growing up—balls and formals and everything proper—felt stiff and so not-him that it hurt.

Jongup refused to give up the only thing that made him feel like he belonged in his own skin.

Against his better judgement, he pulled a small vial out of his bag and took it like a shot. The milky-white, minty liquid cold-burned its way down his throat. The dose of Pepper-Up potion sparked through his veins, and he mopped more sweat off him before starting again.

One more time. Okay, maybe two or three. But no more—the room had begun to cool, signaling the potions lab had let out. Jongup had yet to run into anyone late at night in the halls, but his luck wouldn’t last forever.

He started the song and danced, eyes closed until he heard the door click mid-way through it. Whirling around, Jongup stared wide-eyed as Kim Himchan, the Head Boy, walked in. He could do nothing but look at him, even his music jarring now that his solitude had been interrupted. 

The Pepper Up turned cold and heavy in his blood, and a shiver raced down his back. His heart jumped to double-time, and Jongup forced in a deep breath. Fuck side-effect paranoia. He willed himself to act reasonable, before he made a fool of himself.

Jongup was going to lose points. He’d have to give up on coming here, and this was Jongup’s only idea of where to go where no one would find him—

No. Stop.

At least it was a Ravenclaw that had found him and not another Slytherin. The bare minimum decency did little to calm his racing mind. 

“Why are you _in here?”_ Kim asked, his contempt for the room clear in his voice. “Breathing this can’t be good for you.” The air was thick with the fumes of whatever they’d brewed. It seemed Kim’s potion had gone astray, his normally impeccable robes had a large lilac stain near his shoulder.

Jongup refused to answer, pressing his lips together. He straightened, refusing to look away from Kim’s eyes. He’d play it cool, arrogant. Insolent and like a Moon. It would be okay.

His song finished, and the silence made him recall it at all. Jongup scrambled for his wand to stop it before it repeated. Chest heaving, he stared at Kim, his eyes a little too wide for casual but the best he could manage.

“Moon, right? Moon what?” Kim asked. Of course Kim recognized him. Damn his family features and his cousin. Kim’s eyes flickered over him, his eyebrows only going higher.

Jongup said nothing, sticking his hands into the pockets of his (Muggle) shorts. Merlin. This wasn’t a position he wanted to be in. Not in uniform, in a room they weren’t quite forbidden from but also not encouraged to use, and after curfew. 

Not that he’d ever get expelled or suspended or anything that would reflect on his record. His family would never let that happen, and the Headmistress wouldn’t be stupid enough to try. But his Housemates would know, and Kim could make his year Hell if he wanted. 

Kim had started hanging out with that one Gryffindor this year—Bang. He’d laughed his dumb, loud laugh from the Gryffindor table at near every meal since the start of the year. There was no way he’d let a Slytherin off, not when he was clearly on Gryffindor’s side of the whole thing. 

“What were you doing?” Kim didn’t sound angry, only curious.

Jongup set his jaw. “None of your business.” He stood and grabbed his robe, not bothering to slip it on over his Muggle clothes. Jongup tried to push past him, but Himchan had several inches on him and stopped him easily.

“What year are you?” he asked. “And you know it’s long past curfew.”

“I’m trying to go to bed. Why won’t you let me?”

Himchan nodded, surveying him with an arched look that made Jongup’s heart sink. “Why were you playing music? Were you dancing?”

“What does it matter?” Jongup said, cursing under his breath when Himchan’s smile grew bigger. 

Himchan moved the rest of the way into the room, shutting the door behind him. He wiped a hand across his forehead as the heat fully hit him. It only took a whispered word and a wave of his wand for him to cool down. Jongup crushed a tinge of envy; he needed to learn that charm. “If you don’t answer me, I’ll take points for you being out of bed.”

“So what?” Jongup crossed his arms. “We’ve got nothing to worry about for the House Cup anyway.”

“Don’t act like I’m dumb, Moon. I’m in Pureblood circles too.” Himchan grinned his vicious smile. “You need to keep your family’s image up now Eunsook's graduated.”

Jongup had half-a-mind to shove past him anyway and not say another word—except he couldn’t risk it. His family would be so fucking disappointed if he ruined the dichotomy his other family members had carefully arranged at Hogwarts. He paused before finally huffing. “Yes, I was dancing. Let me go.”

Himchan’s smile looked much too conniving, more Slytherin than Ravenclaw. The Kim’s had a mix of both Houses in their family, and his cousin had warned him to watch for the Slytherin in him. Jongup had thought he’d mistaken when Kim came in all buddy-buddy to Bang, of all people, but apparently not. “And you do this a lot, right? I’ve heard the music before.”

Jongup met his gaze and refused to answer.

“I bet you do it every night there’s a late potions class because no one comes in here.”

He was right. “So? Why do you care?” Jongup bit out. “Are you going to take points or not? You're keeping me out of bed.”

“Depends,” Himchan said. “Your Housemates won’t be happy with you, you know.”

“I don’t care what they think.”

“Your family does,” Himchan said bluntly. “And you care about that.” His words struck him a little too close to the heart, and Jongup forced back a string of curses. “But—if you come meet me here tomorrow at midnight, I won’t tell anyone a thing about it.”

“Blackmail? What would your Gryffindor friend think of this?” 

The jeer left Jongup’s mouth before he could swallow it, but Kim seemed unfazed. “We’ll find out tomorrow night, if you come.”

“Why?” Jongup asked. “I won’t come unless you tell me.”

Himchan laughed, dumb and loud and annoying. He patted Jongup’s shoulder, ignoring his flinch. “You’ll find out there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!!

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr :)](https://onlystraightforjongup.tumblr.com/)


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